My knees keep on hurting when I walk. Could it be osteoarthritis?
If you have the some or all of the following symptoms, you may be suffering from osteoarthritis. These include:
- Persistent, recurring pain, typically worse after walking or climbing stairs
- Swelling of your knee joint after strenuous activity.
- Warmth & redness of your knees especially after strenuous activity.
- Stiffness of your knees especially in the morning after rest. Trying to move the joint brings difficulty and pain.
- If you have had osteoarthritis for a long time, you may even be bow legged.
How do I get osteoarthritis?
Osteoarthritis occurs due to wear and tear of the joint over time. The cartilage covering the joint disintegrates, exposing the bone underneath to each other. The movement of bone against each other, without protective cartilage, leads to damage, pain and difficulty moving that joint.
In some patients, pre existing conditions such as gout, rheumatoid arthritis and joint infections accelerate this process by already weakening the cartilage.
How will my doctor know I have osteoarthritis?
After taking your medical history and conducting an examination of your knees, your doctor will most likely order a series of X-rays. If these X-rays show certain degenerative features, he will be able to make a diagnosis of osteoarthritis.
What can be done now that I know I have osteoarthritis?
Depending on the severity of your condition, your orthopaedic surgeon may suggest one or more of the following options:
- Physiotherapy to help improve muscle strength and alleviate your pain
- Walking aids to reduce the amount of weight your knees need to bear
- Painkillers which include oral preparations as well as some which are injected directly into the joint
- Surgery to remove loose bodies within the joint space (arthoscopy). In more severe cases, your doctor may need to refashion the bone to correct and deformity or in some cases recommend a total knee replacement.